This Isn't Happening To Me!

"This isn't happening to me!" Have you ever said that? Well . . . I've said it several times. Particularly in those slow-motion moments as I found myself being bucked off my horse, or maybe when I had an unfortunate encounter with a law enforcement officer for my lead foot.

Bailey experienced her first "This isn't happening to me" moment last night at the barrel race. She's not a scared-e-cat. She rides the horses I prefer not to. She's tough and becoming quite a horse-woman.

When you run "exhibitions" at an open jackpot - you are doing just that, paying to have a little exhibition time on your horse in another arena. That being said, the ground isn't worked every fifth barrel racer and can get pretty deep.

Bailey was working Mighty, putting together a nice and easy run - he came out of the first barrel ready to go, she held him up a little and he began his turn into number two. Went to plant his feet in his normal position and the ground was extremely deep. He couldn't get his front feet up underneath him and I watched in slow motion, my daughter and her horse go down on their side. I watch in slow-motion, the horse get up, take a step with my daughters foot still in the stirrup, and then watched in slow motion as she kicked her foot free and sat up.

I began to run in what seemed like "slooowwwww-mooooottiiiooon" into the arena to get my daughter as Mighty ran at a very past pace past me. Got to her, she was okay, kink in her neck and a soar shoulder, couple scrapes but she was all in one piece.

We got Mighty caught, she jumped in the horse trailer to unload her jeans of about 3 lbs of arena dirt and then . . . got right back on. Made a near perfect, easy run on Mighty, then turned around and got on Socks and won second in the 4D.

On the drive home, I asked her, "Bailey, what were you thinking as you rounded the barrel and found yourself going down?" "Mom," she said, "I thought, 'This isn't happending to me!"

It's all in what you do with "This isn't happening to me" that matters.

Blessings~
P.




Bailey has been working really hard with Mighty. He's one of these diamond-in-the-rough horses that we aren't about to get rid of because when he turns on the speed, he's not going to get caught by many.